Return of Darkness
by Rabbit '91
Summary: A year after the event's of 'Bride of Mephiles' everyone settles back into their normal lives. But after a strange break-in at Sonic and Amy's house, the sakura hedgehog's past transgressions with a certian demonic being comes back to haunt her. Rated M for material.
1. One Year Later

**AN: Gentlemen...BEHOLD! By popular demand, the sequel to _Bride of Mephiles._ However, this will only be a two-chapter one-shot. So sit back, relax and enjoy some creey stuff ;) **

**Disclaimer: Sonic and Co. do not belong to the author, they belong to SEGA. Please no flaming or trolling and peace out!**

* * *

~Chapter 1~

:One Year Later...:

The sun rose into the sky in the Green Hill Zone. It was going to be a beautiful morning. Inside a small house, still sleeping, were a pair of hedgehogs. They were Sonic the Hedgehog and Amy Rose. The cerulean speedster was on his side with cherry-pink companion all tangled up in his limbs. The rays of the rising sun peered through the window of their bedroom and awoke Sonic. Cracking one eye open, he silently fumed at the bright light.

_Damn me for not closin' the friggin' curtains_ he mentally ranted.

With a yawn and a stretch, the blue blur then turned his attention on his still slumbering mate. Her form was slowly rising and falling from the various paces of her shallow breathing. She looked very peaceful like this. Sonic smiled a little and began to gently nuzzle her neck. Although it wasn't his intention, Amy started to stir with a sleepy growl.

"Stop it..." she mumbled. "I'm trying to sleep."

"Well the sun's up little missy." Sonic teased. "You'll have to wake up pretty soon anyway."

Amy continued to growl at him while he chuckled. To him, she looked so cute when she got all riled up like that.

"...Mrmmm...dammit, Sonic." the sakura hedgehog snapped.

"Oh relax willya?" the cyan male said. "It's all good."

"It's not gonna be good when I start kicking your butt with my hammer."

"Uh-huh. Suuuuure..."

Instead, Sonic wrapped himself around his mate and started stroking her quills. Amy began to relax after that. Then a few minutes later, the baby monitor went off, making them alert.

"Sounds like the munchkin's up." Sonic quipped.

"Yes." Amy sighed.

She got up from the bed and went down the hall. In the smaller room next to the master bedroom, was the nursery. And cooing for her mother in the crib, was Amy's daughter, Bella. The female hoglett was wide awake and calling her mother for attention.

"Good morning, my little one. "the young flower quietly sang.

"Ma...Mama!" Bella chirped.

The two nuzzled heads as Amy turned to leave the room and headed for the kitchen. There, the sakura hedgehog placed her now 11 1/2 year old baby in the highchair at the table.

"Hope you're hungry for peaches and cream, baby." Amy said while peering inside the refrigerator.

Then, Sonic came into the kitchen making Bella chirp in excitement.

"Papa!"

"Hey there, munchkin." Sonic greeted as he patted the toddler's head.

Amy pulled out a small jar of baby food and a spoon from a drawer and went over to the table where Bella was waiting eagerly.

"Okay baby, open up." Amy said after placing a bib around the girl's shoulders.

Bella gazed wide-eyed at her mother while being fed. Sonic scoffed a little and thought that the hoglett looked as if she were being mesmerized.

"What are you laughing at, Sonic?" Amy questioned, giving the cerulean speedster the evil eye.

"Oh nothin'." Sonic chortled. "She just makes the funniest faces sometimes."

The cherry-pink female rolled her eyes. Bella just continued to devour the mashed up peaches each time her mother brought the spoon to her mouth.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Sonic asked.

"Not much." Amy replied. "Cream and her mother have gone out of town again."

"Oh yeah, I remember that. Vector wasn't happy to see Vanilla leave either."

Amy let out a light hearted giggle.

"No, he wasn't." she agreed.

"So what do you wanna do?" Sonic asked again.

"Well, I don't know Sonic."

"You know what? I think Bella might enjoy another visit to the park today."

That instantly caught the baby girl's attention away from her mother feeding her.

"Pa..! Pak!" she sang.

"Well, I guess we can manage that." Amy said cheerfully.

XXXXXXX

About a few hours later, Sonic, Amy, and Bella-in the cyan hedgehog's arms-went out from the house and to the local park.

It had been a quiet year since the strange and horrible incidents that befell Sonic, his friends, Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, Shadow, Cream, and her mother, Vanilla. The one mostly affected by the whole thing, was Amy Rose. The demon Mephiles the Dark, who was once the super god Solaris, resurrected after being defeated by Sonic, Shadow and Silver the Hedgehog in their super forms a few years before. After regaining a considerable portion of his strength, he began to target Amy, forcibly making her his mate and impregnating her. But in the end, with the efforts of Team Sonic and Dark, Mephiles was ultimately defeated and destroyed into nothingness once more.

As for Amy, it took a while for her to heal from her terrible ordeal. In the months following the incident, she finally gave birth to the child that was sired by the demon with her, which of course was little Bella. After she was born, Amy continued to live on as if Mephiles never existed. Although it couldn't be that perfect because then Bella wouldn't have been there in the first place. But the good news was that the hoglett imprinted on Sonic and believed that he was her real father and as far as Amy was concerned, she'd like to keep it that way.

The park in the Green Hills Zone was wide and open. Not much people were there either, aside from the kite nerds. Bella, even though she was barely beginning to walk, just loved to run out through the grass and chase whatever butterflies that happen to be resting there. Like a doting mother, Amy watched her daughter like a hawk. Sonic was a bit relaxed on the subject but never completely threw caution to the wind. While out on the field, Bella started picking daisies and other wild flowers before trotting back to her mother. There the little girl presented the flowers to Amy.

"Mama...!"

"For me? Aw thank you, baby." the young flower cooed.

Bella raised her arms up, wanting to be picked up, which Amy happily obliged. Then the hoglett let out a yawn and began resting on Amy's shoulder.

"Tired already?" the sakura hedgehog asked as she patted her daughter's back gently.

"I think she's like one of the few babies that actually like napping." Sonic quirked.

Amy let out a humorous snort and continued patting the toddler's back. Soon enough, Bella was out cold.

"I guess it's time to go home, Sonic." Amy said.

"Yup." Sonic nodded. "Way ahead of you, Ames."

The couple got up from their spot underneath a tree and left the park. The blue blur hung onto the flowers that Bella picked and brainstormed on whether or not they had a vase back home.

xxxxxxx

When the hedgehog family got home, they were in for a horrible surprise. The house appeared to be broken into. The front door was ripped nearly off its hinges and the living room and kitchen was an absolute mess.

"What the heck happened in here?!" Sonic exclaimed.

"This..this is awful!" Amy cried, holding her toddler tighter.

"I'm gonna check the rest of the house. You wait here."

"Okay. Be careful Sonic."

The cerulean speedster went through the house, checking for damage or anything that might compromise their safety. During his trek he noticed that nothing seemed to be stolen. None of their belongings were missing at all, just tossed around. Odd for a break-in. And even more strange, the only two rooms that were left virtually untouched were the master bedroom and the nursery. Everywhere else was practically ransacked.

"This is really weird." Sonic murmured to himself as he scratched the back of his head.

He back to the entry way where Amy was cradling a sleeping Bella in her arms.

"I think we're okay. I don't think anything was taken from the house." the cyan hedgehog told his companion.

"That's a relief." Amy said.

"I'm gonna call up Tails so he can help fix the front door."

XXXXXXX

A half an hour later, the twin-tailed fox came over with his tool box and started to help put the front door back together with his best friend and brother. Sonic had already cleaned up the large mess inside the house by the time Tails had arrived.

"So, someone broke in and didn't take a thing?" Tails asked, as he placed a new brass hinge on the door.

"Yeah, isn't that weird?" Sonic replied. "Plus, whoever it was, didn't even touch my room or the nursery while all the other rooms were just trashed."

"Huh...I've never heard of a robber doing something like that."

"Neither have I. By the way, you think you could set up a security system in here or something?"

"Sure, but it'll take me a couple of days."

Sonic had to smirk at that. Every time Tails went to make something, he always wanted his work to be absolutely thorough.

"Alright." the cerulean speedster said. "I think Amy would sleep better knowing that we have one."

"I don't blame her." Tails replied.

The kit then took a screwdriver and began fastening a new door knob.

"You know," he began. "if you want my opinion, this doesn't look like your run-o-the-mill break-in."

Sonic blinked.

"How so?" he asked.

"Well, someone busts through your door, trashes the house, save for two rooms, and steals nothing. It sounds more like someone giving you a message or something." Tails explained.

"But who the heck would want to do that, Tails? It couldn't be Eggman because even that's a bit immature for him."

"It could be anybody you ever fought against if you think about it."

The blue blur went deep into thought. His twin-tailed friend had a point. But until the saffron fox installed the security system, it was all just circumstantial evidence without a suspect.

xxxxxxx

That night, after suppertime and putting Bella to bed, both Amy and Sonic turned in themselves. Amy had some trouble going to sleep because of what had happened earlier and worrying herself over her family's safety. But after a few minutes of Sonic working his magic on her, the cherry-pink female fell sound asleep. The night then seemed to wear on uneventfully. Until when the clock struck 3 AM...

_Amy was shrouded in complete darkness. She couldn't quiet see in front of her, it was all pitch black._

_'Where am I?' she thought._

_Then at that moment, she heard a voice. A sickly sweet and rusty sounding voice that the sakura hedgehog had never wanted to hear ever again._

_"Hello, my sweet Angel. How I've missed you..."_

_There was no mistake. Amy knew that voice just about anywhere and all too well. It was HIS voice. Somehow, HE was here again. Amy tried to shake herself out of it. It had to be her mind playing tricks on her or her imagination just running wild._

_'Come on, Amy snap out of it.' the young flower told herself._

_A cruel laughter was heard._

_"You are so darling when you think such silly thoughts, dear one."_

_The sakura hedgehog then felt something wrap around her waist very tightly and pull her backwards. Next, she felt someone tenderly nuzzle her neck._

_"You're still mine, you know. Nothing has changed."_

_Amy started to squirm, trying to break free. Hard and clawed hands began traveling up and down her form. Amy finally had enough._

_"L-let go of me!" she cried, pushing away the figure who had taken ahold of her._

_That was when Amy saw the shadowy figure's face and her jade eyes widened in sheer horror. It was HIM. It was Mephiles the Dark in his demonic form. Amy just couldn't believe what she was seeing. This had to be a joke. Mephiles on the other hand, became rather unhappy when he visually examined her belly and seeing that it was now flat._

_"What have you done with our child, Aaaaaammmyyyy?" he asked._

_He grabbed ahold of her again and pinned her to the ground below them, Amy let out a sharp gasp and tried struggling to break free. But for some strange reason, her whole body suddenly felt numb and heavy._

_"If you won't tell me, little one," Mephiles whispered. "then I'm afraid I will have to make you carry another..."_

_"No...no..."_

"NOOOOO!"

Amy shot up from her bed screaming in terror. Sonic who was sleeping soundly, jolted awake at the sound of the young flower's piercing cries.

"Whoa, Amy. AMY!" he exclaimed. "Calm down!"

Amy was shaking like a leaf and tears were streaming down her face. Her jade eyes darted madly around the darkened room before realizing that she was back in reality. The cyan hedgehog wrapped his arms around her and she jumped.

"Amy relax, I'm here." Sonic cooed.

Amy then wrapped herself around him and whimpered.

"Oh my God, Sonic, I had such a horrible nightmare..." she rasped.

"Ssssshhhhh. It's okay, Ames." Sonic said in a soothing voice and petting her quills. "I'm right here."

The cherry-pink female began to calm herself in her mate's arms. Then another terrifying thought crossed her mind.

"Bella!"

Amy wriggled out of Sonic's arms and jumped out of bed. She raced down the hall and to the nursery. To her great relief, her baby was still in her crib sleeping soundly despite Amy's screams in the next room. The sakura hedgehog reached down to pick her up and held her close, still reeling from her nightmare. The whole thing was starting make Amy feel sick. Bella meanwhile, began whimpering in her mother's arms, being slightly disturbed from her slumber. Amy quickly nuzzled and rocked her to soothe her back to sleep. Then she felt someone wrap their arms around her again and making her jump. Amy saw that it was only Sonic.

"Amy, you really need to calm down." he told her. "It was just a dream. It wasn't real."

Amy let out a little sigh. Perhaps she was overreacting a bit, but she couldn't help it. Her nightmare was just horrible.

"Come back to bed, Ames." Sonic said, rubbing her back.

"Oh...okay." she whispered.

XXXXXXX

Two days later, the cherry-pink female was starting to become a mess. She got extremely paranoid everywhere she went, especially around Bella. It didn't particularly drive Sonic nuts, but it did worry him.

It was also understandable considering all that Amy had been through in the past year.

One afternoon, the young flower was watching TV with her toddler in her lap laughing and clapping at the show on the screen. Sonic came up behind the couch and started nuzzling her neck out of affection. Only to receive a startled jump. Amy quickly calmed herself when she saw him.

"Oh, sorry Sonic." she said.

"You know, Amy. I love ya, but you really need to chill. You're unnecessarily stressing yourself out." the cerulean speedster told her.

"I know, but I'm trying not to."

"You just need to relax."

He started to rub her shoulders to settle her uptight nerves. Meanwhile, Bella started snoozing in Amy's arms with her thumb in her mouth after listening to the soft music on the TV.

"By the way, are you gonna ever tell me what that nightmare was about?" Sonic asked.

Amy got quiet again. Since that night, she never told him what that terrible dream comprised of. The sakura hedgehog didn't really want to talk about it either. But holding it in wouldn't help much too.

"Remember that...that monster that came after me about a year ago now?" she asked softly after heaving a big sigh.

"Who? Mephiles?" Sonic asked in reply.

"Yes, him."

There was a pause.

"Is that what this is about?" the blue blur asked. "Amy, there's nothing you need to worry about. That guy is freaking history."

"I know that." Amy replied. "But I still can't shake that awful feeling that I-"

She was cut off when Sonic leaned over and embraced her in a lip lock. Amy kissed back of course. She was never able to resist his charms.

"Just relax and take it easy, Ames." Sonic told her. "This is probably repercussions from the break-in we had."

The cyan hedgehog was probably right. Since then, Amy had been such a worry wart. She wrapped one arm around his neck and nuzzled him.

"Thanks, Sonic." she whispered.

"Glad to help." Sonic quipped with a wink.

XXXXXXX

Amy was hoping to get a good night's sleep that night after stressing herself out so much. She even took a sleeping aid to help her with that. However, her hopes were dashed when she was pulled unconsciously into that same thick veil of darkness that was her dreams.

_"That blue whelp thinks he's so smart." said a harsh voice. "It's almost nauseating!"_

_Amy immediately recognized the voice._

_"You're wrong!" she cried._

_"Oh am I?" he replied in a challenging tone._

_Then there was silence. The young flower had hoped that maybe Mephiles had disappeared. Then she heard a dark giggling as if he had heard her thoughts._

_"I am always here, little one." he mused. "I'd never leave you..."_

_Amy placed her hands over her ears as if she were hearing something awful._

_"Please stop it!" she pleaded. "Leave me alone!"_

_"At least you didn't do away with our child, my dear." Mephiles continued, almost ignoring her pleas. "I knew you would be such a good mother..."_

_"STOP IT!"_

_The poor female couldn't take anymore of him already. She tried to flee from his voice. Then she unwittingly ran into the demon's arms._

_"Why most you always run from me?" he sighed._

_Amy violently struggled to get out of his hold..._

As she tossed and turned in bed the sakura hedgehog fell off the bed and onto the floor. Frantically reclaiming her senses, Amy waved her arms about to swat away whatever tried to grab ahold of her while crawling backwards into the wall. With all the noises that she made, it was enough to awaken a sleeping cyan hedgehog. Blinking tiredly, he saw Amy on the floor, clinging to the wall and staring madly into the darkness.

"Ames? What's wrong?" he called out.

"...nuh...nothing..." Amy rasped, still clutching the wall.

Sonic frowned. It certainly didn't look like nothing. He climbed out of bed and walk over to the frighten cherry-pink female. Amy was scared, she almost jumped at the sight of her cerulean companion.

"Another nightmare?" he asked with a sigh.

Amy gave a nod as tears started to well up in her and eventually fall from her muzzle. Sonic wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her neck as she started to sob.

XXXXXXX

A week later, Knuckles the Echidna came to Tails' Workshop with his extreme gear.

"Hey Tails, you home?!" he called out as he knocked on the door.

2 seconds later, the twin-tailed fox answered the door.

"Hi, Knuckles!" he greeted with a warm smile. "Long time, no see. What brings you here?"

"Eeeh, my extreme gear is on the fritz." Knuckles explained. "Think you could patch it up for me?"

"Sure, no prob! Why don't you come in?"

"Gladly."

He walked into the Workshop following Tails into the main computer room. Once inside, Knuckles saw a whole bunch of devices set neatly on the table on the opposite side.

"You working on something?" the crimson male asked.

"Yeah. It's a security system for Sonic's house." Tails explained.

"What does he need a security system for?"

"Someone broke into his house a couple of days ago."

Knuckles blinked in surprise.

"That's something you don't hear every day." he quipped.

"No it isn't." Tails wryly agreed.

"Amy and her kid doing okay?"

"For the most part, yeah."

Knuckles gave a nod. Then he started to feel something a tad odd with his senses. Particularly in the air.

"Hey, Tails." the echidna said. "Is it just me, or does something smell weird around here?"

"It's not you." Tails said. "There's this stale and sweet smell circulating around here. It might be something in the vents that I need to check out."

He got up from his rolling chair and searched for one of his special tool kits.

"So what's wrong with your extreme gear?" Tails asked.

"Well it won't lift off the ground for one thing." Knuckles replied.

Tails continued to look for his kit, getting a bit frustrated as his search came up fruitless.

"Dang it, where _is_ that thing?" the fox ranted.

"Perhaps you left it somewhere else?" Knuckles suggested.

"Maybe. Hold on a minute."

Tails went out into the hall where the strange stale scent grew stronger. His sky colored eyes were caught by something even stranger. In the infirmary room to his left, withered roses laid strewn about and shriveled all over the floor.

"What the...how'd those get in here?!"

"How's what got in where?"

The ruby guardian alerted by Tails' outburst, also went into the hall. There he suddenly felt a dark aura coating the area that felt greatly disturbing.

"Tails?" Knuckles called out again.

He came into the room and saw the saffron fox picking up the dried out flowers.

"What's all this?" the crimson echidna asked.

"Probably what's creating that strange smell." Tails grumbled. "What a mess. I have no idea where these came from."

Knuckles scratched his chin. Something was definitely not right here.

XXXXXXX

The next morning, Sonic was the first to wake and Amy was, for once, sleeping peacefully beside him. But she was getting dark circles under her eyes from waking up in the middle of the night. The blue blur gently stroke his mate's soft pink quills causing her to whimper a little and making him frown.

Maybe I should take her to a shrink or something, Sonic thought. This is starting to become a problem.

The baby monitor went off again making Amy stir a little. Sonic promptly got up from bed and went to the nursery himself because he wanted Amy to get a little more rest. When the cerulean hedgehog got into the room, he made a surprised and confused face. Bella was wide awake and looking a little confused herself, because instead of being in the middle of the room like it normally was, the crib somehow moved to the far corner of the room.


	2. The End

~Chapter 2~

As soon as Amy got up from bed she found Sonic and Bella the kitchen tucking into breakfast.

"Morning." Sonic greeted. "You feeling okay?"

"A little bit..." Amy murmured.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Did you happen to move Bella's crib to the wall?"

Amy's head shot up with a confused look on her face.

"No, why?" she said.

"Well, I found it up against the wall in the nursery." Sonic explained. "And I thought that was kinda odd."

Amy had a frown on her face. A cold, icy, and terrible feeling erupted in her gut. She thought that Mephiles had somehow came back to plague both her and Bella. But that had to be impossible. She saw him get destroyed by Super Sonic and Super Shadow. Maybe the sakura hedgehog was starting to go crazy.

"You alright, Ames?" Sonic called out. "You look kinda sick..."

"No...I'm...I'm alright." the cherry-pink female replied.

"Ma...Mama!" Bella yammered.

She reached out to Amy wanting to be picked up and held by her. Amy happily obliged after leaning over and giving her daughter a nuzzle.

_'Maybe Sonic's right. Maybe I am getting all paranoid.'_

XXXXXXX

Back at Tails' Lab, Knuckles was doing some detective work. While the saffron fox was fixing the echidna's extreme gear, Knuckles went and inspected the infirmary room where he and Tails discovered the mysterious withered roses.

The room itself seemed somewhat familiar. But the ruby guardian couldn't quite put his finger on what made it so. He went around the room, looking through things and such. But when he got to the bio-bed, Knuckles experienced something very unusual. The fur on his body stood on end and his whole form froze almost completely. Jolts of dark electricity shocked his nerves. It almost started to take ahold of the crimson echidna. Quickly and in a swift move, Knuckles backed away from the bio-bed and into the wall. After regaining his bearings, he blinked his violet eyes frantically and breathing in gasps.

_'Damn...what the hell was that?!_

Collecting himself, Knuckles went back over to the bio-bed. The strange feeling he felt before did not come back.

_'There's a presence in this room.'_ he thought. _'I know it.'_

The ruby guardian went back to the main computer room where Tails was still at work on his extreme gear air board.

"Almost done, Knuckles." the young kit said.

"Thanks." Knuckles replied. "Say Tails, that infirmary room...has anyone used it recently."

"Ummm, not really. The last person to use that room was Amy."

Knuckles' eyes widened. Now he remembered why the room felt familiar. Then he started to put things together and the worst thought and possibility came across his mind.

_'Impossible. It can't be...'_

xxxxxxx

Amy was at home by herself with Bella. Sonic had gone out to the store to get groceries. While the young flower was busy bottle feeding her hoglett, the telephone rang. She got to her and answered it, holding Bella in one arm and the phone in the other.

"Hello?"

"Amy? It's me, Knuckles."

"Oh hi, Knuckles! How've ya been?"

"Good. Listen, I have something important to ask you."

"Okay shoot."

"Have any weird, odd, or out of place occurrences been happening?"

The sakura hedgehog made a face.

"A little bit." she admitted wryly. "Why do you ask?"

"Just tell me everything that happened from start to finish." Knuckles told her.

Amy let out a sigh. She set Bella down on the couch and returned to the phone. As the seconds ticked by, the cherry-pink female explained all the things that had been happening for the past few days to the ruby guardian.

"Hmmm...that say a lot actually." Knuckles finally said. "Would you mind f I came over for a bit?"

"Not at all." Amy replied. "I don't think Sonic would have a problem with it either."

"Good. I'll be over in a few then."

"Okay, Knuckles. Goodbye."

She hung up and went back to the couch. Bella had nodded off on a cushion while her mother was away on the phone. With a smile, Amy sat down and scooped the slumbering hoglett into her arms, giving her a tender nuzzle. A few minutes of watching the television set, the young flower started to fall asleep herself...

_The next thing the sakura hedgehog knew, she was back in that void again. And this time, a sleeping Bella was with her._

_'Oh no.' Amy thought with dread, holding her daughter close._

_"She's very beautiful. Just like her mother..."_

_"Y-you stay away from us!"_

_The cherry-pink female's response was a dark chuckle. Amy then started to run. She didn't care if everything was pitch dark around her. She just wanted to get the hell away._

_"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Where do you think you are running to, dear one?"_

_"Leave us alone! Please!" Amy cried, with tears pooling in her jade eyes._

_There was a silence. Instead of feeling relief, it made her feel more paranoid. Then she felt arms snaking around both her and Bella._

_"NO!" Amy wailed, quickly breaking away._

_"Hmph..."_

_Even as she attempted to get away from Mephiles, another pair of snaked around her waist, shoulders, and ankles, holding her in place and ensuring that she stay there. Amy tried to break free without hurting herself or Bella but sadly, she failed._

_"How amazing that our child still slumbers through your screams, my love..."_

_Amy began to tremble._

_"Please, leave us alone..."_

"Ames. Ames?"

the young flower's eyes snapped open as she was being awakened by her royal blue mate after he had returned from the store.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked.

"...yeah..I'm fine." Amy replied in a low voice.

Sonic grinned and joined her on the couch. He gently pulled her into his arms and started to nuzzle her. Amy promptly nuzzled him back, a little bit furiously too.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" the cyan hedgehog asked.

"Mmmmhmmm." Amy replied again.

He petted the top of her head as she got even closer to him. Then Sonic started to stroke Bella's quills as the toddler snoozed in Amy's arms.

"Dang. Munchkin sure does sleep like a log." the cerulean speedster quirked.

Amy giggled at his comment. She was already forgetting her inner demons. Sonic had this weird way of making anyone feel safe and positive. She began to nuzzle him underneath his chin. In response, he captured her in a kiss. Amy kissed him back, with all the love she had to offer him. Then there was a knock at the front door, snapping the pair out of their love making.

"Who could that be?" Sonic asked.

"Oh yeah." the cherry-pink female remembered with a nervous smile. "Knuckles called earlier and said he was coming over."

"Thanks for telling me." Sonic groaned.

"Sorry."

The pair got up with Amy heading down the hall with Bella and Sonic going to the front door to answer it.

"Hey, Knux." the blue blur greeted. "What's up?"

"Weird stuff that's what." Knuckles said.

"Oh you too?"

"Not really. But why don't you tell me your side of things."

"Well, our house got broken into but nobody stole anything, Amy's having nightmares because of it I think, and I keep finding Bella's crib in a completely different place every morning."

Knuckles raised his eyebrow as Sonic ranted.

"Hmm, that's what Amy tells me." the echidna mused.

"So what weird shit has been happening with you?" Sonic asked.

The crimson guardian's expression then turned grave and serious.

"Sonic, I know this is gonna sound crazy as all hell, but I think Mephiles the Dark came back somehow." he said.

Expectantly, the cyan hedgehog's started at him in total disbelief.

"You're kidding me, right?" Sonic retorted. "That big huge explosion of purple light we both saw was just a hallucination?"

"Look, at Tails' place there was a bunch of shriveled up roses all over the floor of the infirmary room that Amy stayed in during that whole mess. Plus, I've been getting these weird jittery feelings in my nerves." Knuckles explained.

"Well...I gotta admit Amy's nightmares with that, does adds everything up. But even if Mephil-Jerk did survive all that, how the heck is he doing stuff and right under our noses?"

"Perhaps he doesn't exist physically, but spiritually."

"You're saying he's a ghost?"

"It's a possibility. But until we know for sure, keep an extra close watch on Amy and Bella. Especially if they're being specifically targeted."

"Of course."

XXXXXXX

That night, the hedgehogs were in deep slumber with Sonic's form wrapped almost completely around Amy's. The house was entirely still and dark. Then, around 3:30 in the morning, the cerulean speedster had rolled over a little so that he wasn't securely around Amy, and an unseen presence entered the room. It made the air a little chilly, making the young flower shiver in her sleep. Suddenly, this presence took ahold of her ankle and jerked her out of bed. Of course it awoke Amy with a start and she backed away towards the wall.

_'Wha...what was that?!'_ she frantically thought.

Sonic also heard her tumble to the floor and slowly woke up.

"Amy?" he groggily called out.

Before he was able to get an answer from his mate, the presence got ahold of her ankle again and slowly began to drag her across the room. Amy was so startled and confused, it took her a few seconds before realizing what was happening.

"Sonic...SONIC HELP! SOOONNNIICCCC!"

Instantly like lightning, the blue blur got onto his feet just in time to see Amy getting violently pulled out of the bedroom. The poor female was just screaming at the top of her lungs, absolutely terrified. Luckily, Sonic managed to catch up to her just as she was being dragged down the basement. With much effort and speed, Sonic grabbed ahold of her, pulled her towards him, and scooped her into his arms. The poor sakura hedgehog was practically hysterical and clinging to her royal blue mate for dear life. Sonic was going to take Amy back to their room, but after hearing Bella wailing from hearing her mother's screams, he decided to head for the nursery instead. Once inside, Amy frantically rushed to the crib, picking up a frightened and sobbing Bella. Sonic bolted the door as Amy held her hoglett close trying to comfort her while trying to get ahold of herself. Sonic, after making sure they were safe, went over to his cherry-pink mate's and step-daughter. He wrapped his arms around them with Amy trembling and Bella whimpering.

"Okay calm down, you two." the cerulean speedster cooed softly. "You're alright."

Amy let out a whimper herself as Bella sniffled and furiously nuzzled him into his chest.

XXXXXXX

The next morning, Tails came over with the completed security system. Sonic went to answer the door after the doorbell ring.

"Hi Sonic!" the saffron fox greeted. He then frowned once seeing the dark circles under his friend's eyes. "Whoa, are you okay?"

"Yeah, Amy and I had a rough night last night." Sonic replied.

"Well, I've got your security system all ready to go."

"Great!"

10 minutes later, as the young kit was nearly finished installing the equipment, Knuckles came over. He too was befuddled to see Sonic as he was.

"So what happened last night?" Knuckles asked.

The cyan hedgehog relayed to him what had occurred the night before. Even now, Sonic had to admit and could not deny the possibility that Mephiles had indeed returned. But how? And how the hell was he getting to Amy?!

_'I can feel his presence originate here in the house.'_ Knuckles thought. _'But where?!'_

"You think maybe we should call for back up?" Sonic suggested.

"Not just yet." Knuckles replied. "Until we know for sure what exactly we're dealing with, I don't wanna bring an army upon an anthill."

The blue blur snorted.

"Nice metaphor."

Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Amy was fast asleep. Since she wasn't able to get much sleep the night before, Sonic insisted that she get some rest and that he would take care of Bella. The young flower was curled up on the bed and clutching a pillow. Last night terrified the living hell out of her. Thinking about it kept her awake until she finally drifted off into slumber. But just as soon as Amy was in dream land, her demon was poised and ready to attack...

_He had her in his hold yet again. She was just too tired to fight back this time. Amy unknowingly allowed Mephiles to cuddle her._

_"Hmmm...you don't seem to be fighting back, little one." the demon mused. "Have you finally come to your senses?"_

_"N-nooo.." Amy moaned._

_"Hmm...I do believe I can fix that."_

_Then the next thing the sakura hedgehog felt was Mephiles' fangs just barely touching her neck..._

Amy jolted up out of her sleep and frantically crawled backwards until her back met the headboard of the bed. Her hand had latched itself onto her neck, as if instinctively protecting it from it from any harm possible. She was almost hyperventilating. Then, after a few minutes of realizing she was only dreaming again, Amy brought her knees to her face and buried it in them.

XXXXXXX

As soon as Tails was done installing the security system, he helped Sonic and Knuckles search the house for anything unusual. They first started with the basement, but everything seemed to be normal and nothing out of the ordinary no matter how many times they looked. It drove Knuckles absolutely crazy because it was there where the dark presence seemed stronger. Finally, they all admitted 'defeat' and decided to move on to other parts of the house.

"What about the attic?" Tails suggested. "Any weird stuff happening there?"

"Not really." Sonic replied. "At least not that I know of."

"Let's look in there anyway." Knuckles said in a directing tone. "Just to make sure."

As the trio went down the hall towards the attic crawl space, Sonic's emerald eyes were caught by something in his room. It was Amy, sitting up in a crouched position on the bed and clutching a pillow in her arms. Frowning, Sonic went in and sat beside her.

"Hey, what's up?" he softly asked her, rubbing the top of her head.

"I can't sleep." Amy whimpered into the cushion. "I just can't sleep. He won't let me."

The cerulean speedster's concerned expression turned soft and he wrapped his arms around her comfortingly.

"Come here." he whispered.

Amy reluctantly let him pull her towards him. Sonic nuzzled her neck, which wasn't really smart since it made the fearful cherry-pink female jump. She didn't mean to flinch at his touch, but she couldn't help it. Sonic rested his head on hers and pulled her closer as she started to cry. All this was beginning to stress her out and it made poor Amy start to lose her nerve. Sonic stroked her quills in an attempt to soothe her fears.

"It's gonna be okay, Ames." the blue blur softly cooed. "It's gonna be okay."

XXXXXXX

At the G.U.N. HQ, Shadow the Hedgehog was working alone, as his partner, Rouge the Bat was out on a solo mission. While the Ultimate Lifeform was busy on a computer, his communicator chimed.

"Yes? This is Shadow." he answered.

"Hey Shadow, it's Knuckles. I'm in need of your assistance."

Shadow raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? What for?" he asked.

"Don't flip, but we, and by _we_ I mean Sonic, Tails, and myself, believe that Mephiles is back."

Shadow looked as if he were just greatly insulted.

"You're joking...correct?!" he growled.

"I'm afraid not." the crimson echidna told him. "It's definitely him. There's no mistake."

The pen in the ebony hedgehog's hand snapped in two as he angrily grasped it. He was there and took part in the demon's destruction himself. To have Knuckles to come and say with 100% certainty that Mephiles had survived it was more than insulting.

"What about the child?!" Shadow spat.

"Errrm..I don't think she's behind this, Shadow." Knuckles sighed. "Besides, she's just a baby after all."

The crimson-splashed male wasn't convinced. But then he was always on edge when it came to the toddler. He constantly thought that she would turn out very troublesome.

"Then what do you think it is?!" Shadow demanded.

"Will you chill for moment?!" Knuckles ranted. "I think Mephiles is somehow being channeled around like a ghost. We need to flush him out."

"You mean perform an exorcism?"

"Something to that effect."

Shadow then let out a sigh.

"Very well then."

XXXXXXX

The next few afternoons at Tails' Workshop, the young kit was again at work on his airplane, the _Tornado_, when his best friend came knocking hysterically on his door.

"Tails! Open up quick, please!"

A bit shocked and surprised by the desperation in the cyan hedgehog's voice, Tails rushed to the front door to answer it. Sonic, with Bella in a carrier on his shoulders, stood on the porch with a comatose Amy in his arms.

"Oh my gosh, what happened to Amy?" Tails cried.

"Mama fall down..." Bella rambled.

"Amy was walking down the hall and she just collapsed." Sonic frantically explained. "I tried waking her up and she won't wake up!"

"Let's get her inside and quick."

The pair brought Amy into another infirmary room since the other one was sealed off by Knuckles out of caution. After examining the young flower, Tails couldn't find anything wrong with her.

"Well Sonic, she's basically healthy." the saffron fox said.

"But there has to be something wrong, Tails." Sonic wailed. "Amy wouldn't just fall over like that!"

"Hey! Anyone home?" A voice called out.

It was Knuckles along with Shadow. They were there to ask Tails if he happened to catch anything strange on the surveillance cameras. The ruby guardian's features turned sour when he saw Amy on the bio bed.

"What the hell happened to Amy?!" he demanded.

"She just fell faint out of nowhere." Sonic told him. "We can't get her to wake up."

As Knuckles went over to inspect the sakura hedgehog, Shadow gave Bella the evil eye. He still thought that somehow Mephiles' powers were being channeled through her.

"Hmm, it feels like Mephiles is telepathically pulling her under." Knuckles mused.

"Can you bring her out of it?" Sonic asked.

"I'll try."

The crimson echidna then attempted to telepathically connect to Amy.

_"Amy...where are you?"_

_In a moment he got a response._

_"Knuckles...help!"_

_"Tell me where you are."_

_"I...can't...it's so dark."_

_"Just try."_

_"...I think I see a small window. It's high up. It...I..think it's our basement...I'm not sure..."_

_In the mind's eye, Knuckles saw a dark blurry image of the basement in Sonic's house._

_"You think you can show me more, Amy?"_

_He got no response._

_"Amy...?"_

_"...GET OUT..."_

Suddenly, the echidna was violently hurled backwards by an unseen force. It made everyone else in the room jump in shock.

"Wha...what the hell?!" Sonic rasped.

"Knuckles! Are you okay?! Tails cried as he and the cyan hedgehog rushed to help him up.

"Y-yeah...I'm fine." Knuckles sputtered. "But that basterd definitely has her. We need to search Sonic's basement again."

"Right, let's go." Sonic replied. "Tails you stay and watch Amy."

"No Sonic, you need to stay with Amy. She'll need to hear your voice to get out of that."

The cerulean speedster hesitated for a moment, but then nodded in agreement.

"Alright, Knux. But you guys be careful." he said.

Everyone nodded in reply and with that Knuckles, Tails, and Shadow left.

XXXXXXX

_Amy was surrounded in darkness. No matter how hard she yelled screamed, she could reach Knuckles again._

_"Knuckles wait! Don't leave me!" she called out._

_"Hmph, now that guardian pest is out of the way..."_

_The cherry-pink female felt Mephiles' arms snake around her like a python and held her in a tight iron-like grip._

_"Let me go!" she wailed. "Please just leave me alone!"_

_"Never. Never again, you're mine. Now and forever. And once I have you as my own again, we'll have our child join us."_

_"NO! You leave Bella alone! I won't let you have her!"_

_"She's my flesh and blood, little one. I have a natural right to her."_

_"No..please. Not her."_

_Suddenly, Amy felt like she was thrown to the ground and pinned firmly down._

_"I grow tired of your defiance." Mephiles hissed in a low tone. "I curse that insolent hedgehog for poisoning your mind."_

_Amy let out a whimper..._

At the infirmary in Tails' Workshop, Sonic, with Bella still in her carrier on his shoulders, was seated beside the bio bed in which the young flower laid on. Then he saw tears leaking out of her closed eyes and rolling down her muzzle. Sonic made a face and wiped them away with his thumb.

"Hang in there, Ames." he affectionately whispered.

xxxxxxx

The trio led by Knuckles, marched right over to Sonic and Amy's house. As they neared it, they already felt a very dark force surrounding it. It especially made Tails shiver.

"Be ready for anything guys." Knuckles warned.

He opened the front door and it was like entering a really thick fog.

"Mephiles' aura has gotten very strong in here." Shadow observed.

"Come on, the basement's this way." Knuckles said.

They went into the living room and found the door to the basement. Suddenly, Tails started to feel really, really faint.

"Ooohhh man..."

"Are you okay, Tails?" Knuckles asked.

"I feel kinda sick."

"Perhaps it's best if you remain outdoors." Shadow said.

"Yeah, go on Tails." the ruby guardian told the young kit.

After Tails was safely outside, both Knuckles and Shadow proceeded down the stairs to the basement. The dark aura was even thicker down there than upstairs. It was enough to make a normal person sick and dizzy.

"I don't get it." Knuckles said. "We searched this place thoroughly last time."

"Mephiles is a conniving imbecile." Shadow replied thoughtfully.

The room was also pitch dark. It was difficult for the two males to make their way through. Then something caught the Ultimate Lifeform's attention.

"Knuckles, look there!"

The guardian swerved around and saw a soft purple glow behind some boxes. The two cautiously approached and removed the boxes. What they saw next shocked them.

"What the hell?!" Knuckles sputtered.

Lying on the floor beneath all the cardboard was a small patch of purple crystals. Shadow narrowed his blood-red eyes.

"So, this is how Mephiles' been hiding." he hissed.

"This still baffles the hell out of me." Knuckles said as he scratched his head. "How did this get in here in the first place?!"

"That does not matter now, what matters is that we get rid of it."

"Right."

The pair approached the patch but it suddenly glowed bright and emitted a shrill noise, repelling them.

"URGH! DAMN!" Knuckles shouted.

XXXXXXX

_Amy was still trapped in the void that Mephiles pulled her into. Even worse, the demon was slowly stripping the young flower of her clothes despite her attempts to make him stop._

_"There that's better." he sneered._

_Amy could only whimper at this point, being defeated by him. Again. Then suddenly, a speck of light penetrated the deep darkness, making Mephiles growl in annoyance._

_"Who dares...?!"_

_Amy thought she saw Knuckles and Shadow in the small light. But Mephiles quickly used his powers to cover it back up with darkness. As that was happening, the sakura hedgehog thought she was hearing Sonic's voice._

_"Come on, Ames." he said. "Come back to us."_

_"Sonic!" the cherry-pink female cried out. "I'm right here!"_

_She attempted to follow the blue blur's voice but Mephiles caught her beforehand._

_"No...you will not escape me, little flower..." he growled._

_'Sonic help me!'_

xxxxxxx

"DAMMIT!"

Knuckles was flung backwards again by the glowing patch of crystals. Shadow was able to catch the echidna with his teleportation before Knuckles slammed into the wall. The patch of crystals started to grow.

"It would appear that he's not easy to get rid of." the ebony hedgehog observed. "Nevertheless he is not as strong as he once was."

"So what do you propose we do now, Shadow?" Knuckles asked.

"Hmmm...I have one other alternative we might try."

Shadow then began to taking off his inhibitor rings.

"Go upstairs." he told Knuckles. "This is going to certainly get ugly."

"Right." Knuckles replied. "Just be careful, Shadow."

The ebony hedgehog nodded and once the ruby guardian left the basement, Shadow unleashed his Chaos Control upon the growing patch of crystals...

_Mephiles pinned Amy back down on the ground, but knowing that her friends were trying to rescue her, gave the young flower a newfound energy to fight back. Mephiles on the other hand, was partly astonished that her will wasn't broken just yet._

_"You still wish to fight, little one?" he asked with a sigh._

_"I'll die fighting you!" Amy shrieked at him, trying to punch the demon away._

_"Well I do hope you enjoy the disappointment."_

_Once he had her firmly pinned down, Mephiles started licking her neck before choosing a spot to bite down on. Of course Amy let out a piercing scream when he did so but back in reality where Sonic kept in constant vigil on her, he only heard a small cry. The scar on her neck then began to turn red._

_Amy squirmed in Mephiles' hold trying to get him off her. She felt that familiar sensation of the demon's venom coursing through her form._

_'No please...not again!' she frantically thought._

_Just when Mephiles thought he had his victory, an even brighter and bigger light pierced the darkness and started to repel it._

_"WHAT'S THIS?!" the demon shouted in rage._

_In the light, Shadow was there glowing red with Chaos power and blowing away everything in his path._

_"Today, you die for good!" the Ultimate Lifeform proclaimed in annoyed tone._

_Mephiles couldn't match him, especially in the form he was in now._

_"ARRRRGGGHHHH!"_

Shadow obliterated the patch of crystals so completely, that even the dust did not remain. Just smoke and vapor. But in any case, it was over. The demon's last short-lived reign of terror was now history. Shadow, after powering down, fell to the floor, exhausted. Something that always happened when he took off his inhibitor rings. Knuckles quickly ran back down into the basement.

"Shadow! You okay?!" he called out.

"I...am fine." Shadow rasped as he was lifted up to his feet.

The two then stared at the spot where the patch of crystals once stood.

"Come, we must return to the fox's Workshop." Shadow said.

"Yes. But first I need to purify this spot. Just in case." Knuckles replied.

XXXXXXX

Back in Tails' Workshop, the red mark on Amy's neck started to disappear and a look of peace came over her features.

"Come on, Ames." Sonic cooed. "Wake up."

"Wake up, mama!" Bella squeaked, mimicking the cerulean speedster a little.

Freed from Mephiles again, Amy followed Sonic's voice and a few seconds later, she fluttered her jade eyes open to her mate and daughter. The sakura hedgehog gave a smile as her orbs met Sonic's.

"Mama!" Bella excitedly piped.

Amy lifted her arms to Sonic and he promptly leaned forward and embraced her passionately.

"You gave us a scare there, Ames." the cyan hedgehog quipped. "How are you feeling?"

Amy's smile became wider.

"Never better."

* * *

**AN: Well I hoped you enjoyed this sequel. Stay tuned for more on _Cherry Blossoms _and the upcoming _Shadowed Roses_.**


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